Does Olive Oil Make Hair Grow Faster?

Olive oil, when applied as a hair mask or when incorporated in shampoos and conditioners, helps to moisturize skin and scalp and can help with dandruff, itchy, dry skin on your head and smoothing of frizzy or curly hair. A healthy scalp is the next step, after a healthy diet, to healthy hair growth.

• The best time span to keep this kind of hair mask on, depends on the type of hair you have. For thin and straight hair 5-10min are often more than enough. Thick, very curly and frizzy hair can need a several hour long treatment to see the best results.
• Always cover your hair, first with some plastic foil and then with a thick, warm towel for maximum effect.
• After the time is over, rinse hair and scalp thoroughly with lukewarm water and let air dry. If you don't need to go out that day, it really pays out not to wash your hair with shampoo the first time round, this way you get the maximum benefit from it. If you have to go out, or the next day, simply wash your hair with a gently shampoo for 'oily' hair and you are all set.
• This kind of hair masks shouldn't be applied more than one, maximum two times, a month, as they could make your hair too 'heavy' looking. Sometimes less is more!

Recipes:

Use one part extra virgin olive oil and one part honey, warm gently and mix until you have a smooth, even liquid. Apply as warm as possible, without burning your scalp, so test first! This is your base mixture, for added benefits and fragrance you can also add some of the following ingredients:

Essential Oils - like rosemary, lemon, tea tree or whatever your favorite essential oil is. You can also add other oils, such as almond oil or coconut oil at this stage.

Fruit - You can also add fruits like banana or avocado to your base mixture. Just smash them with a fork and / or use a blender or food processor to achieve a smooth, even texture.

Raw Egg - This means basically making a 'hair mayonnaise' ;-) Mix egg yolk and olive oil very slowly, drop by drop, at room temperature, until you have the desired consistency. Now you can add a few drops of essential oils and / or fruit and you have a very rich, natural hair mask.

Note that, as the two last 'olive oil hair mask' recipes are richer, aka heavier in consistence, therefore the time you leave the mixture on should be shorter. Especially if you have very thin, fine and straight hair, if you overdo it, you might end up with healthy, but oily hair that clings to your scalp. Not what you were looking for!

Whilst olive oil doesn't help to make healthy hair grow faster, it certainly helps, when taken internally, to provide your hair body a lot of nutrients that help it to grow healthy hair. And when used externally, as a hair mask for example, it does smooth and moisturize your scalp and gives your hair a healthy shine. Try it out for yourself and if you like, share your experience in a comment!